The eternal game of cat and dog
by ninja-bitch
Summary: I'm really new to Inuyasha so please bear with me and if you see anything which is wrong or anything, then please tell me! Flamers welcome I'm thick skinned! just R&R please!
1. the blue cat demon

'Did you see the size of that thing?' asked the fox demon excitedly, hopping around the small group sitting around the camp fire. 'It was HUGE!'

'That was quite an impressive cleavage.' admitted Miroku with a dreamy look on his face. 'B-but uh… her- her face was… horrible.' he added hastily, noticing Sango fuming.

'I'm hungry.' complained Inuyasha twitching his ears, but the other ignored him as they had already eaten.

'At least we got a shard.' said Kagome, looking on the bright side as she always tried to do. 'And helped the kids in that orphanage.' she added, smiling to herself at the memory of the children's smiles.

'Humph.' said the Hanyou moodily, crossing his arms and getting comfortable in a nearby tree. Kagome sighed exasperatedly and prodded the fire, deciding that he was a lost cause.

Suddenly they heard a noise coming from a bush just behind Miroku. He sprang up and hurried behind Sango who had taken a defensive posture along with the others, preparing to face the foe hidden by the obscurity…

Out of the trembling bush came a small, blue cat demon. The group of friends breathed a sigh of relief as the little creature gave a small "mew".

'Dumb cats.' mumbled Inuyasha frowning down at the new comer. Kilala scowled up at him for a moment before looking back over at the blue animal opposite her.

She made a few tentative mewing noises as the others all watched in silence, including Inuyasha. She finished with a loud "MAOW", then tilted her head curiously, still gazing politely.

The other cat demon closed it's eyes as it's small shoulders started bouncing up and down in quick succession.

'Is that cat…' started Kagome hesitantly as a soft squeaking noise started coming from the animal. 'Is it… laughing?' she asked, frowning, confused.

'I didn't know cat demons could do that.' admitted Sango raising her eyebrows before looking down at her friend. Kilala looked back up at her as though telling her that neither did she.

'Either way it's cute.' said Miroku, nodding to himself. 'Are they often blue?' he asked, turning to Sango questioningly. She shrugged before taking a step forward and kneeling down, holding her hand out for the blue creature to sniff.

It stopped laughing and moved forwards to rub itself on Sango's outstretched hand, purring to itself.

'What's that marking on it's face?' asked Inuyasha who had moved forwards to take a closer look. 'It looks like a star.' he added, stating the obvious.

The two cat demons sniffed each other hesitantly before the blue one rolled over into it's back and started giggling again; Kilala patted it playfully on it's head.

'Well, it looks like Kilala's found a new friend!' pointed out Kagome, smiling happily. 'Maybe it's a boy and they've fallen in _love_!' she added hopefully.

At that, the two cat-like animals stopped playing and sat glowering at her, letting them all know that the blue creature was in fact a girl.

'Maybe not.' corrected Miroku, smiling apologetically at her.

They stood in silence for a moment, watching the two animals playing together.

'Can we keep her?' asked Kagome suddenly and excitedly, looking hopefully at the half dog demon with what she hoped was a pitiful smile. 'And call her STAR!!!' she added, bouncing eagerly up and down on the balls of her feet.

'First of all, Kagome' answered Sango calmly, still gazing at Kilala and her new friend. 'you don't _keep_ a cat demon: they decide to stay with you. And secondly,' she continued, looking up at the dark-haired girl. 'she already has a name. We just don't know it yet.'


	2. trouble's afoot!

'I hope she does stay with us.' said the young dark haired girl, a little downtrodden, still watching the two cat demons playing. 'They look so happy together.'

'Humph.' said Inuyasha again, sarcastic as ever. 'It's just another mouth to feed, that means less for me.'

'Oh quiet you!' retorted Kagome frowning at him menacingly. 'She's only small, she can't need all that much food… besides, she's a cat demon, right? Cat's can hunt for themselves, can't they? So you don't have a foot to stand on.'

'She's got you there.' pointed out Miroku, smiling over at the disgruntled Hanyou who was fuming. 'I don't see what harm it could do, IF she decides to stay.'

'It looks like she will.' said Sango as the others started to disperse and the two cat demons lay down together. 'I've never seen one that colour though…' she added under her breath, a small crease forming in her forehead.

They all settled down to go to sleep under the starry sky, all with thoughts about the mysterious little visitor. Inuyasha glared at the blue cat demon for a moment before closing his eyes and letting himself get as comfortable as he could on his tree branch, ready for a long night of waiting.

'_Damn cats._' he thought to himself moodily. '_Come here and mess with my friends… it's up to something, that's for sure… but what?_' He lifted one of his eyelids to glower at the little creature. He watched it as it cuddled it's small body up against Kilala's slightly larger one. '_Damn cat… trying to be cute…_' He could hear them purring from way up in his tree.

Suddenly there was a rustle of leaves behind the tree Inuyasha was sitting in; he leapt up and turned to face the foe hiding in the bushes. All of a sudden he saw the little blue cat demon standing beside him, glowering into the bushes.

'Go away!' he said forcefully, trying to shoo the little animal away. 'SHOO!!! Be gone!! Vamoose!!! Get lost!!!' he kicked out to try and make it go away, but it just sprang out of the way and glared up at him for a moment before glowering back into the bushes, the fur on it's back standing on end. 'Grrrr.' he growled in frustration as he turned back to the noise. 'Fine, but if you get hurt, don't blame me!'

From the bushes a small figure appeared on it's hands and knees. As it stood up, the half dog demon recognized it…

'Rin?' he asked, confused. 'What are you doing here? Why are you here? What are you doing up so late?' he asked in quick succession, putting his hands on his hips before quickly taking them off, reminding himself painfully of an anxious mother.

'Master Sesshomaru sent me.' she said quietly, trying not to wake the others as in the background she watched Jaken put the sleeping powder over their eyes. 'He says he wants to meet with you.' she finished, looking back into his curious yet hard face: he hadn't noticed a thing. She smiled sweetly, trying to emphasise her innocence.


	3. family reunion

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes and glanced down at the little creature standing beside him and noticed it's fur standing on end. For some reason, he got the feeling the cat was right (although he'd never say so), and glared down at the girl in front of him.

'I'll just go and wake my friends-' he started, turning to go to the others, but Rin grabbed his red kimono desperately.

'No!' she whispered in desperation, glancing frenetically at Jaken who was just disappearing into a thicket. 'He wants to see you in… private.' she finished quietly, looking straight into his face hoping this would make him think she was sincere.

The cat demon hissed menacingly at the small girl, her blue fur standing on end. Inuyasha sniffed at the air, sensing she wasn't telling him the whole truth.

'Why?' he asked, trying to buy himself some more time. Before the little girl could answer, his half brother appeared through the bushes she had come through earlier.

'Can't a big brother speak in confidence with his younger sibling?' asked the non-chalant dog demon, brushing the prickly bush aside with ease, ignoring his small companion.

The small creature beside Inuyasha suddenly grew into a tiger-like feline, the same way Kilala would have done. The half dog demon glanced at her, wondering why she was intent on staying with him despite his loathing for cats, which was painfully obvious to anyone.

'I see you have a new pet.' said the dog demon, giving a minute cynical smile. 'How sweet.'

'Shut it Sesshomaru.' shouted Inuyasha defensively. _Why was he defending this dumb cat? Damn mind tricks. Stupid cat_. The feline beside him bristled indignantly, growling slightly. 'What do you want?'

'The end of scum like you.' replied Sesshomaru, his eyes glistening maliciously with anticipation of a good fight. He lifted his hand and threw out his two first fingers, the green whip-like weapon towards the two opponents opposite him. Inuyasha's eyes widened in surprise as he felt something push him out of the way.

**YAY updates!!!! Sorry it took so long... but I'm back now!!! Yay!!! R&R please!!!**


	4. the blue girl

He crashed to the ground with a tiger-sized feline pressing him down in the cold grass, looking over her shoulder with an angry look on it's face.

Inuyasha sat up as the animal leapt off of him and towards the dog demon ferociously. He jumped up and ran towards his half brother, pulling his sword from it's sheath, shouting threats as he did so… but he stopped dead when he saw what had happened.

The cat demon had disappeared and in her place was a strange sort of girl, fighting ferociously against the youki. In fact Sesshomaru was obviously just as surprised as Inuyasha, but he continued to try and bring on this girls demise as though nothing was wrong.

'Are you getting females to do your fighting now?' he asked, trying to keep his voice neutral but the effort to keep her fast moving limbs from throwing him of guard.

'Female?' asked the girl as she aimed yet another lethal kick at his face which he parried with difficulty. She had sapphire blue hair with sky blue ears poking through along with a long, fluffy sky blue tail which flicked around behind her elegantly, the fur standing on end. Her skin was a pale shade of blue and her skin tight unitard was marine blue with sky blue tiger stripes running from the outside to the middle, and she had heavy, marine blue, fluffy uggs covering her feet.

The Hanyou noticed that she still had the strange star shaped mark just below her left sapphire coloured eye.

'This _female_ has a name,' she said her voice pulled with the force of her attacks and her parries as she dodged her adversaries assaults. 'It's Puxi, and you'll be screaming for forgiveness in a minute.'

'Try me.' replied Sesshomaru, sending his whip-like weapon at the young girl with the blue skin and ears, his brow furrowed into a frustrated scowl. 'I think you'll find you won't be around then.' he added, a small sarcastic smile creeping across his face.

The girl growled in frustration and threw herself at her foe, sending fast moving kicks and fists aimed for his face and head, deflecting his own strikes and sending more at him.

Inuyasha couldn't believe his eyes… _She looks younger than Kagome…_ he thought to himself, watching in awe.

'Go and wake the others up!' screamed the girl at the Hanyou, still struggling against the Youki. Inuyasha was about to retort angrily, but she cut across him angrily. 'Just DO IT!!!' she screamed as the fluorescent whip flew past her right ear, too close for her comfort. So Inuyasha turned and ran back to the others, muttering to himself angrily.

'Who does she think she is?' he asked himself, as he knelt down beside Kagome. He gazed at her for a moment, her relaxed lips in a tiny smile making her absolutely gorgeous… all of a sudden Inuyasha remembered what he was supposed to be doing. 'Kagome, wake up.' he said quietly, pushing on her arm gently. But she didn't wake up. 'What the..?' he asked himself. He shook her harder, but she didn't move. He moved to Sango and did the same, then to Miroku and Shippo, getting the same from all of them.

He looked over his shoulder as he heard the blue girl squeal in pain and surprise and saw her being grabbed by the ankle and thrown towards the river. She stopped herself just before she fell in, standing on tiptoe with her hands out, wiggling them around trying desperately not to fall in… but to no avail.


	5. Sesshomaru's mistake

She disappeared from view with a small yelp and a tiny splash, leaving the tow half brothers watching after her before continuing the fight.

After a moment they heard a furious growl from where the girl had disappeared over the side of the river and into the water. They looked over and saw the girl glaring furiously at Sesshomaru, her pupils slits in her suddenly red eyes, and her hair dripping quietly.

'You shouldn't have done that.' she murmured almost inaudibly, trembling with rage, her small hands balled up into fists, her whole body radiating hatred and loathing.

Sesshomaru was about to retort cynically when she threw herself at him viciously, crying out in frustration and fury (as they usually do in animes!!!). His eyes widened just the tiniest bit as he dodged her kick by less than a centimetre, feeling the draft her foot had made. He just had time to swerve around when he felt another attack just miss his upper torso, catching on his kimono and tugging him slightly to the side.

He growled in anger as she elegantly dodged his own assault, her hair flicking his face aggravatingly. He threw his hand back and forth, trying to get her with his fluorescent whip, but she was incredibly agile and even though she hadn't hit him, she was easily missing his own.

If you want to see what Puxi actually is supposed to look like, go to Deviantart . com (I had to write it that way otherwise won't allow it) and look up ScarlettStar. It's under Puxi for obvious reasons!!! Sorry about the mix up people!!! R&R please!!!


	6. a whating spell?

Suddenly, as she was about to hit him in the head with a well placed kick, they were brusquely thrown apart, landing heavily on the hard ground and wondering what had happened. Sesshomaru leapt up hastily, conscious of hostile eyes on them.

'Halt, Demon scum!' came a domineering voice from the shadows. Puxi, Sesshomaru and Inuyasha turned to look at the place where the voice had come from, in the shadows they could just about make out several human shapes.

'The band of seven.' whispered Inuyasha apprehensively, every fibre in his body ready for flight. Sesshomaru glanced at him then at the girl on the floor, wondering what to do.

'You're all going do die.' came a different voice as the first one ran out and threw a spell between the two half brothers, forcing them both to jump out of the way. The Hanyou landed behind a tree on the way to his friends, which he then rushed off to, leaving the youki and the girl alone with the demon hunters. Sesshomaru landed just beside the girl as she got up and stood behind him in the kung-fu defence position, one hand behind her head and the other one stretched out in front, her two first fingers stretched to the sky.

Suddenly and before either of the demons could do anything against it, Bankotsu and Jakotsu threw a different spell on them, engulfing them both in a strange, eerie light. After it had disappeared, Sesshomaru decided it was time to make a hasty exit.

But before he'd got very far, he felt a weight holding him back and he heard a strange yelp from behind him, where he thought he could feel the weight keeping him back.

'What are you doing?!?!?!' screamed the blue skinned girl who, Sesshomaru saw when he looked back in surprise, was sprawled out on the ground. 'Why d'you pull me along?!?!?!' she added furiously.

'Binding spell.' said the youki darkly glowering up at the demon hunters, menacingly. 'Get up you worthless piece of-'

'Do you mind?' asked the girl standing up and glaring fiercely up at him. 'You don't tell me what I do and don't-' but before she had finished, Sesshomaru had started running, noticing that the hunters had started closing in around him. She fell forward, just staying upright, and being tugged along behind the youki. 'What the hell do you think you're doing?!?!?!' she continued.

He ignored the girl and continued running as fast as he could with the extra weight weighing him down. He felt the weight lessen a little and guessed that the blue eared girl had stopped resisting and started running after him.


	7. the illicite cuddle

After a while he slowed and stopped, looked over his shoulder at the girl who was still glaring at him resentfully. He turned away, wondering vaguely whether Jaken and Rin were close behind or whether he would have to go back and find them. They always managed to find him some way or another.

'What do you think you're playing at?' she asked quietly, a look of angry confusion on her face. 'I was just kicking your ass, and you decide to drag me along with your sorry ass.' There was a long pause. The girl sat down under a nearby tree, brushing her fingers through her long furry tail.

'By repeating "ass" it proves that you're imperceptive.' he said quietly, not looking at her, after a sufficiently long silence.

'Who do you think you are?' she asked, jumping up defensively. 'You think you're so much better than Hanyous but you're not. And especially not better than me, because I am NOT a Hanyou.'

'Yes you are.' he replied shortly, glancing at her irritably. _Who did she think _she_ was? She was obviously not a youki. That was for sure_. He turned away from her and looked around for a tree to get comfortable on.

'And you'd be the expert.' she laughed sarcastically, following him as he headed towards a large tree. 'Quit pulling me around! Let me go, dammit!'

'It's a binding spell.' he explained cantankerously, 'That was the light which appeared around us.' he added, speaking quietly and slowly as though she was a retard. Behind his back she grimaced ironically. 'I saw that.'

'No you didn't.' she answered crossly. 'I'm not a mental patient.' she added, repeating the grimace. Sesshomaru ignored her. 'So come on.' she said suddenly. 'Let's finish the fight… are you too tired?' she asked, trying to get a reaction out of him… but to no avail. 'Some youki you are. Your brother was better than you are.'

'Half brother.' corrected the dog demon without looking at her as he got as comfy as he could on the hard bark.

She sighed exasperatedly. She tried to walk to the tree she had sat down on earlier, but she was suddenly held back by an invisible force. She tried harder to pull on the weight, and felt herself move a little.

'Settle down damn you!!!' shouted Sesshomaru angrily as the girl tugged at whatever was pulling them together. 'Just… sit down there… where you are.' he finished irritably, he motioned uninterestedly at a small tree a few feet away.

'I'm not sitting anywhere near you, let alone sleep.' she retorted angrily, sneering at him as he rolled over, ignoring her. 'Asshole.' she murmured, putting her hands on her hips and looking away exasperatedly. 'You can't go to sleep now…' she said quickly. 'Dude, don't you want to try and get us separated?' she asked, her voice sounding wound up.

The dog demon ignored her and tried to go to sleep. A few minutes later he heard her getting comfortable a few feet away to his left. He felt that finally it was safe to let his eyelids droop a bit, and maybe… possibly, steal forty winks…

Sesshomaru woke up with a jump. He could feel something pressed against his back… he didn't move… he slowly, tentatively looked over his shoulder and saw a small figure curled up against him. He jumped up in disgust and incredulity.

'What the hell do _you_ think you're _doing_?!?!?!' he barked furiously, making the blue skinned girl wake up with a jump and immediately take a defensive stance.

'I didn't do that.' she said angrily, trying to buy herself some more time to think of a decent excuse. 'You must have scootched closer to me… not the other way around.' she exclaimed, her hand motioning back and forth between the two.

'I wasn't asleep.' said Sesshomaru coolly, hoping she'd buy it, but she wasn't having any of it. She was about to retort but he interrupted her. 'I don't have to explain myself to a scumbag like you.'

'You're gay, aren't you?' said Puxi suddenly, frowning incredulously at him. The youki rolled his eyes and started walking off into the obscurity, the girl following grudgingly. 'You are. I'm so sure of it.' she continued, trying to provoke him, but he didn't seem that bothered, so she kept going. 'I know your secret.' she said loudly, as though she wasn't all that bothered with him.

Sesshomaru sighed exasperatedly. _Why me?_ He asked himself irritably. _Why do I, of all people, get stuck with the scumbag?_ She was still talking behind him, every now and then jerking herself backwards to try and pull him over with the binding spell, but he ignored her.

'And what about your little friend?' he heard her ask suddenly. 'You've got something going on with her, haven't you?' that reminded him: Rin. Where was she? Was she alright or did that Hanyou have her? 'You do realise that's paedophilia, don't you?' he growled to himself in frustration.

'She follows me around. Nothing more.' he said quietly, half hoping she wouldn't hear him.

'Sure she does, and that's why you always seem to be there when she's in trouble.' pointed out the blue tailed girl infuriatingly. 'Like if she gets kidnapped, or something.' she added, as though she knew of Sesshomaru and Rin's past. He took a deep calming breath. 'I don't see why you don't just fight me.' said the girl quickly, from a few feet behind him.

'Because,' he started, the effort of keeping his voice and face neutral making his voice tremble slightly, but he didn't give her the satisfaction of looking at her. 'we are bound together. If we were to continue the battle,' he explained slowly, as though speaking with a mental patient, 'I would kill you and end up dragging a corpse behind me.' there was a pause in which the girl took in what he had said, before he continued under his breath 'Not that that would be any different.'

'I heard that.' she said loudly, the frown audible in her voice. 'And I'm not a spastic.' she added.


	8. Sesshomaru's bitch

'Could have fooled me.' mumbled the youki, still with his back to her, he heard her huff incredulously, giving him a warm sensation that he had won. He started walking off in the direction they had come in, feeling her weight behind him as she reluctantly followed.

'Either way I was winning that fight.' she said behind him, obviously just trying to wind him up again, but he wasn't having any of it. 'I guess we're going back for your precious _Rin_, now.' she continued, putting special emphasis on the little girl's name. 'You really are a paedophile, aren't you?' she added matter-of-factly. 'Plus you like some kind of… toad… thing-'

'He's my…' Sesshomaru tried to retort, swiftly whirling around on his heel… but he couldn't find the word… what was Jaken to him?

'Bitch?' prompted the blue haired girl unhelpfully, a big fake smile covering her blue skinned face.

'Servant.' finished the youki finally. 'And you'll pay him the respect he deserves from a shitbag like you.' he added imperiously. She mimicked a scared face, making her knees knock together gently and her hands softly pressed against her smooth cheeks, her mouth in the shape of an "O".

**Dear (scratch that) Mr (scratch that too) Flame Rising, Some people are just plain sad to write that much, explaining why or how they waste their time reading other peoples work. At least the people you flame have the balls and imagination to go ahead and write something in the knowledge that it is quite possible they will be flamed. I feel sorry for your "friends" and people who have added you to their watches of some sort, because they are just about as sad as you. Oh, and you mention something about people not knowing how to speak English, when you repeatedly say the word "fucktard" which, to my knowledge, is not in the English dictionary. Go ahead and delete this, but it will just prove that you have too much time to waste flaming other writers. A wise man once said: "Critics are like eunuchs- they watch it being done (...), but they can't do it themselves." Says everything there is to know about you. Have a nice day.**


	9. irritating thing

He turned around again, continuing his journey back to find Rin and Jaken, the girl following unenthusiastically. He heard her whistling to herself softly, a song he didn't know… maybe it was the new fashion.

'So, why do you travel?' came her voice suddenly curious. 'Is it just because you don't have a home, or are you on the run from demon hunters?' she added; she seemed genuinely interested and Sesshomaru was tempted to answer, but he decided against it. 'I'm on the run personally.' she said, realising she wasn't going to get a response out of the grumpy youki. 'You know what it's like.' there was a short pause. 'Why did you want to fight your brother?' she asked quickly, clearly not put out by his silence.

'Half.' corrected Sesshomaru before he could stop himself. He cursed himself for answering her: this would encourage her and make her think he cared what she thought or said.

'_Half_ brother then, smarty pants.' she corrected herself sarcastically. 'So? Why do you do it?' she asked again, hoping that because he had corrected her he might answer this time; not that he did. He seemed to enjoy ignoring her.

They fell silent again, walking leisurely through the forest, all the different greens creeping around them as the moon slowly made it's way down and the obscurity lessened unhurriedly. They could hear the dawn chorus warming up the tiny voices which brought it to life, quiet chirping and whistles sounding from all around the walkers.

She started humming to herself again quietly… a different tune this time, ever now and then singing sentences under her breath. _What did she say her name was_? Wondered the dog demon. Not that he cared… scumbag. _Who did she think she was_? He added, frowning to himself at her impertinence. She was a Hanyou, he could tell from her scent… plus she had ears _and_ a tail.

'Puxi!' he said out loud without meaning to, remembering the name of the strange girl following him.

'Yes?' she answered inquisitively, walking swiftly up to walk beside him, expecting him to say something to her. But he didn't. He just acted as though he hadn't said anything; her face fell a little and she fell back to walk behind him.

Sesshomaru felt a strange feeling he didn't often get, pulling at his heartstrings and making him want to say something to this young girl… scum though she was. He knew he shouldn't feel guilt, but she looked so young, so innocent.

'Don't you get hot in all those clothes?' came her voice behind him, pulling him back to reality and the situation: she was a piece of dirt… no less than dirt. He had no reason to pity her. 'Especially that boa thing.' she added. Sesshomaru whipped around suddenly, fuming down at her. But he was surprised to find her smiling up at him benignly, her sapphire eyes sparkling with character.

'I might not be destroying you now,' he said menacingly, glaring down into her small, grinning face. 'but that does not mean I won't. I am only sparing you because I have no inclination to drag a rotting corpse behind me.' there was another pause; Puxi was still smiling happily up at him as he tried to intimidate her with his height. 'Why are you still smiling, you little… irritating… thing?'

'You're really touchy about your clothes, aren't you?' she said, still beaming up at him, her ears twitching gladly. Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes in disbelief at her insolence, making her giggle a little before she walked past him and lead the way, inviting him to go and find his little companion.

As he watched her go, he gave a minute laugh at her brazenness, and total disregard of his power and strength over her. He started feeling a little respect for the small being walking in front of him, her tail and hair fluttering gently in the breeze. Without meaning to, and to his great surprise, he felt a strange new feeling arise in his chest… not guilt… a new one; one which he hadn't felt for a very long time, or even ever! He shook his head, trying to shake off this new sensation… pushing it to the back of his mind.

He felt the bond between them pull him forwards, forcing him to follow her and grudgingly started walking, still shaken by his little experience. He would have to consult Jaken; this wasn't good.

'It feels really weird to be in front.' came the girl's voice from ahead of the youki, her head turned to watch him following her. 'It gives you a real sense of power.' there was a silence. Sesshomaru watched her as she turned around completely and walked backwards, every now and then glancing over her shoulder to make sure she didn't bump into anything. 'I see why you like it here!' she added, smiling right at him.

She had stopped looking where she was going now, and Sesshomaru watched as she headed towards a large oak tree, on a collision course. She was five feet away now; he imagined her crashing into it and watching her slide slowly to the ground, her hair catching on the rough bark, her small hands covering her face, he smiled to himself… she was two feet away now… he could see her now, her sapphire eyes looking up to see if there were any more acorns going to fall onto her small head, her face… her pretty face… she was smiling back at him…

Sesshomaru stopped. As he expected the connection between them forced the girl to a stop; she was less than a foot away. Her smile disappeared as she thought he was trying to be difficult, her grumpy face resentful.

'You had to go and ruin it, didn't you?' she asked, miffed. 'I was just thinking that you're not so bad after all, and then you had to go and do that.' Sesshomaru didn't say anything, he didn't want her to know that he had stopped her. 'And I thought that smile was just you being nice. I am so stupid.' she added, clearly embarrassed. He smiled a bit more, watching her smooth blue skin blush into a purple sort of colour.

'It's this way.' he said quietly, pointing away to her right. She blushed into an even darker purple and followed as he led the way, back in their respective places.

The sun was just coming up over the dark horizon, stretching the early morning shadows further out into the dew covered world. Every single shade of green and brown visible in the new light, emphasising every single detail of the beautiful woodland. The dawn chorus had really got into it's swing and the birds were belting out their hearts as though their lives depended on it.

They walked on in silence, listening to their surroundings without really hearing anything, expecting to hear the other say something… or maybe... hoping.


	10. uncalled for

After several more hours of walking, the young girl behind Sesshomaru made a strange groaning noise, possibly trying to make him pay more attention to her which he denied. But she just continued to repeat it, over and over again until he had finally had enough. He snapped his head around to scowl at her with the most menacing glare he could muster at such short notice, only to see her grinning up at him happily, her sharp teeth on show and her sapphire coloured eyes lit up for no apparent reason.

'Why are you making those noises?' asked the older man quietly, trying to hide his curiosity in anger and finding his tone faintly lacking.

'I'm not making any noises.' she answered benignly, shaking her head a little to add to the effect. Sesshomaru noticed the tiny fluctuations of the girl's hair and fluffy ears as she shook her head and found himself desperately wanting to smile back. But he resisted, instead opting to just turn around and walk on as though nothing had happened.

But after a moment the noises started again, loader than last time and more prolonged, infuriating the youki. He span around in his heel again to glare at the girl who looked up at him with a inoffensive, if slightly puzzled, smile on her blue face.

'Are you hearing things again?' she asked innocently, her right ear twitching a little as she gazed up at him with her large sapphire eyes. The man turned back around with a frustrated growl and continued walking, each step wishing that he was stepping on her head. 'You know hearing voices is the first sign of madness.' he heard her point out from behind him, he could hear her hurried movement in her voice as she was pulled along behind him by the strange bond which linked them.

'I AM NOT GOING CRAZY!!!!' he bellowed at her as he span around, towering over the small girl who suddenly cowered on the ground, her blue eyes suddenly wide and fearful… most unlike her usual rebellious self. She was curled up on the ground, one hand holding herself up and the other coming between her and Sesshomaru, a pathetic attempt at a shield; he could see her trembling a little as he tried to slow his breathing down. 'Get up.' he said calmly turning away from the cowering girl, hoping despite himself that she would be alright as he started slowly walking away.

But after a few paces it was obvious that she wasn't following: he could feel the strain of her weight as he tried to take another step, and looked back over his shoulder at him. She was still crumpled on the mossy ground, her wide eyes still glued to his face in horror and fear as he took a deep breath.

'That was uncalled for-' he started laboriously before she cut across him with the voice he recognised.

'You bet it was un-fucking-called for!' she yelled at him, getting to her feet and marching towards him with a livid expression on her young face and her hands balled into furious fists. 'What the fuck happened to your sense of humour? Oh no wait! You never had one!' she continued at the top of her angry voice as she got to within half a foot of him, throwing her hands around heatedly.

'You have no right to talk to me that way-'

'I was about to say the same to you!'

'You filthy half blood piece of-'

'You arrogant full blood twat!'

'Don't you dare-' but what Puxi wasn't allowed to dare to do noone heard because at that moment they both heard voices shouting through the woods somewhere behind the girl. They both snapped their head in that direction, their ears pricking up (Puxi's literally!) as they scanned the woods in that direction.

'Demon hunters!' exclaimed the blue skinned girl under her breath, a hint of fear floating on the aftermath of her statement which made Sesshomaru a little apprehensive.

'We've walked right into a trap.' the youki told the young hanyou darkly, glaring over her head at the area the voices were coming from. As he looked around the small clearing they had walked into unknowingly he noticed the tell tale signs of a demon trap around them: sixteen trees spaced at exactly the same distance, discreet symbols hidden in bushes or in the bark, a different kind of grass growing beneath their feet.

'What are we gonna do?' asked the blue haired girl nervously, fear etched in her eyes but her voice was as fearless as ever. Sesshomaru wondered whether she had always been scared when she had fought him and she had just been hiding it well… he hadn't been able to see her eyes the first time they had met.

'There's only one choice.' he growled throatily, looking back around the clearing to try and work out where they'd be coming from. 'Just do everything I say.'

'What do you take me for?' she said suddenly, frowning up at him incredulously. 'A novice? I'm not a beginner, you know?!'

'You're certainly not as experienced as me.' retorted the full demon dangerously as he turned away from her and pulled her towards a different place in the clearing, the sound of angry voices coming ever closer.

'Wanna bet?' she asked venomously, narrowing her eyes at him.

'Yes.' he answered shortly, summoning the end of the conversation.


End file.
